


Run Away With Me

by Impala_Chick



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Fluff, Introspection, Road Trips, they deserved a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26434999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: By the time senior year rolls around, Erica and Boyd carry on with their plan to runaway together.
Relationships: Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10
Collections: Het Swap Exchange 2020





	Run Away With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jungle_ride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jungle_ride/gifts).



Erica does not glance in the rearview mirror when they leave Beacon Hills, but she has that luxury. Boyd is the one driving. The radio isn’t on, but the roaring of the wind would have drowned out any music anyway. She glances over at Boyd, who senses her looking and lets his eyes drift over to hers. She smiles, and he smiles back, and she isn’t sure if that is supposed to mean anything. 

She’d been nervous when she’d asked Boyd to leave with her. Everything physical between them had been so new then, and she didn’t want him to think she was only asking because they were in the “honeymoon” phase or whatever. This wasn’t just about their relationship, it was about Erica getting the fuck out of Beacon Hills.

She remembers Boyd nodding along as she talked, the words rushing out of her in a torrent of excitement and enthusiasm. He’d taken her hand and said yes, without even asking what they’d do after they stopped the car. Erica had wanted to get away, to see _more_. She knew she couldn't live the rest of her life in Beacon Hills. If she wasn’t going to stick around for the long haul, why stay a moment longer than she had to? So she tested out, got her G.E.D. And then Boyd did too. 

This trip wasn’t about some kind of bullshit identity transformation. She had already done that, in every way that counted. As soon as she’d been bitten, her physical transformation gave her the confidence she never thought she’d possess. 

Boyd’s kindness and patience had always impressed her. When he was bitten, he kept it a secret from everyone at school at first. He enjoyed his power and his confidence for their own sake, and he never felt the need to show anyone. Even Isaac had gotten a little flashy, had wanted everyone to see him for what he had become. But Boyd hadn’t reacted that way, and Erica always found that to be so hard to relate to. Once she had attained the kind of power she’d only dreamed of, she put it on display. Everyone had school that had treated her like shit needed to know that she could tear them apart with one swipe of her claws. Otherwise they’d never realize the difference.

But Boyd had been sure of himself from the jump. It was enough for him that he knew the truth about himself. 

Erica didn’t really understand that point of view, but she admired it. 

After the bite, she’d been nearly killed by a classmate, by hunters, by other werewolves. All of that pain and that torture wasn’t her fault. It sure as hell wasn’t Boyd’s fault either, and of the two of them, Erica thought he deserved all that even less than she did.

Now, she was just looking for a place that would accept her. A place to call home, without all of the baggage and the bullshit.

They’d set out to find a pack of their own, except for real this time. No running through the woods with a half-baked scheme and terror zipping through her veins. This time, they have clothes and money and a car. Scott gave them a few numbers, so Erica had made a few calls before they left. There is a pack out in Arizona that seems promising. 

There is still a terrifying thought jammed up in the back of her mind, getting louder as the car speeds down the freeway.

She knows how Boyd reacted to torture. She knows what would happen if Boyd was not allowed to shift for weeks. She knows that Boyd is fully capable of killing another werewolf, if he felt he had to. She knows all of those intimate things about him, things that no teenager should know about their boyfriend.

And yet, she has no idea what Boyd wants his future to look like. 

For that matter, she doesn't know what she wants hers to look like either.

She saw how being an Alpha affected Scott, how it forced him to become everyone’s protector. He had to be involved in so many aspects of directing the lives of and _saving_ the rest of his pack. The commitment was huge - it was like being married. Or buying a house. It was grown up shit. No way in hell did Erica ever want to be an alpha.

She wants to be independent in the way that she envisioned when she first got bit. No fights to win, no one to answer to, no pack to be responsible for. Freedom is hard to come by, and maybe Erica isn’t ready to give that up. 

They’d only been on the road for four hours, and Erica already wants to change course. 

She pulls her arm back into the car and turns to Boyd. “What do you think about the beach?”

The corner of Boyd’s mouth turns up just a fraction, and he stops drumming against the steering wheel.

“Do you even know how to swim?” 

Erica tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Yes. But I would have thought bikinis would be enough of a draw for you to agree.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t agreeing.” He pauses for a moment and then flicks his gaze over to her. “Fine. Let’s do it.”

He gets them back on the 5 as she rolls her window up. She turns on the radio, and he puts the pedal to the floor. Some Journey song starts blaring through the speakers, and Erica knows all the words. She can’t help but sing along. She watches Boyd, sees him put on a show of rolling his eyes and staring at the road. That only makes her sing louder.

Erica jostles his shoulder and leans in over the center console.

“It goes on and on and on and on!” She snaps her fingers too, just to really get into it. 

Boyd folds at that point, and shouts the chorus right along with her.

She laughs and laughs.

\---

When they pass the _You are entering Santa Monica_ sign, Erica immediately suggests they stop at Pacific Park. The boardwalk will be loud and crowded, but that’s exactly the vibe Erica is going for. She just wants to feel like any other person on the beach, enjoying the California sunshine and meandering around with nowhere to be. Maybe she’ll get hit with inspiration, and finally figure out what it is that she really wants.

Boyd agrees easily enough. He doesn’t ask questions, so Erica supposes that maybe he wants a break from driving. Either way, they eventually find a place to park and Erica jumps out of the car with werewolf speed. Boyd swings the car keys in his left hand as he walks next to her on the sidewalk. 

“Anything in particular you want to do?” Boyd asks. 

Erica thinks about it for a moment before answering. “Everything.”

Boyd nods, like that’s not a weird thing to say at all. 

They reach the pier, and Erica can see the huge ferris wheel rising up at the end of it. The sides of the pier are crowded. There are people in bikinis and cut offs, shaggy haired surfers with their wetsuits half unzipped, and kids with melting ice cream cones running around. They pass several stalls occupied by cartoon artists, jewelry makers, and even a clown making balloon animals.

Erica feels dazzled by all the bright colors and smiling faces, and she tries to relax so that her oversensitive nose doesn’t overwhelm her with all the new smells. 

Then she notices an orange and white photo booth. It looks old and faded on the outside. It’s got a big orange stripe on it, and Erica pulls back the faded blue curtain to go inside. 

She sits down on the tiny plastic seat before she realizes she didn’t put any money into the machine. She can hear coins clinking outside, though.  
Boyd comes inside soon after, and Erica grins at him. 

“Might as well capture the moment,” he says with a shrug.

Erica presses the start button. The countdown appears on screen, and she leans in to press a kiss to Boyd’s cheek. A bright flash prompts Erica to change her position and she jumps up to sit on Boyd’s lap. He grips her hips, and Erica blows a kiss at the camera. She hops off after the second flash and just sits next to him. They are pressed together thigh to thigh, and Erica tries to remember if it had always been this easy between them.

Maybe it had. 

Once the last flash goes off, she turns to Boyd, waiting for him to open the curtain. 

“This was a good idea,” he says absently. She doesn’t know if he means the booth, or the trip in general, but he’s up and out before she can ask.

When the photo strips print, Erica laughs in delight. They look so… normal. It’s rare to see Boyd smile so wide, and yet there he is in three tiny panels, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Memories!” Erica crows. She folds the strip and tucks it in her back pocket. She doesn’t notice what Boyd does with his, because she’s already striding down the pier towards the ferris wheel. 

“You know, we’ll have to get money somehow,” Boyd points out from somewhere behind her.

She whips her hair over her shoulder as she turns to look at him. “Why? Are we staying?”

Boyd pauses for a second, and looks down at his hand as he twirls his key ring around his finger. “You think they have any ice rinks around here?” 

“On the pier? No. In the greater Los Angeles area? Yes.” Erica grins and Boyd bites his lip, the corner of it turned up into a smirk.

Someone jostles Erica as they make their way past her, and Erica swivels her head to stare at the offending party. There is a small group of people wearing bikinis under their clothes, laughing and talking as they walk. 

“Sorry about that!” One of them says, before she turns back to her friends. 

Erica bristles, but she’s not mad, actually. The whole group seems happy, and totally mundane. Erica can’t smell any werewolves in the vicinity. She can’t smell blood, or death, or betrayal either. Just ice cream and salt water.

“Maybe this could work,” Erica agrees. “But do you really want to drive a zamboni again?” 

Boyd shrugs and steps closer. He reaches out and runs his fingers through Erica’s hair, and Erica leans into the touch. 

“I’m good at it already,” he says as he rests his forehead lightly against hers. “Who wouldn’t want to work in an air conditioned room out here, anyway?” 

Erica laughs and puts her hands into Boyd’s back pockets, just to pull him closer. She breathes in his minty aftershave, and presses a kiss to his bright smile. 

People stream past them because they are blocking the walkway, but Erica stays put for just a moment longer. It feels like they’ve got all the time in the world.


End file.
